What Grinds my gears, episode 1: “mobility”

This is Coach Ivan Rojas. One thing that really grinds my gears is hearing athletes with weak cores incorrectly complain about their mobility. Let me tell you, almost every seminar we at Risto Sports hosts, there are at least 3 CrossFitters who complain that they can’t do a snatch because they have bad mobility. They tell me that their trainer told them they were also inflexible.

98% of the time this is WRONG.

If you have a WEAK core and are snatching in sneakers or barefoot– goodluck trying to catch the bar overhead. Many times these athletes are sufficiently flexible and have joints that are well put together– BUT, they have incredibly weak cores. In CrossFit, their is an aesthetic importance of having a sixpack, yet this doesn’t guarantee that the sixpack owner has sufficient abdominal strength relative to their other muscle groups.

So, repeat, if your core is weak, yes, you are going to collapse under a snatch. Yes, its going to be really hard to do a proper overhead squat. AND, if you’re not lifting in weightlifting shoes, then your snatch is doomed because snatching isn’t a natural movement.

The next time an athlete struggles to do a decent snatch, before blaming it on their mobility, ask yourself the following, ” Do they have a strong core- back and abs?” , “Are they wearing weightlifting shoes to help hit these unnatural positions?”